Another common concern we receive from new stylists making the switch from other hair extension companies to Donna Bella is, “when I buy hair from other companies, the extensions are so smooth and silky when pulled out of the package, but then after a few washes, the hair becomes a dry, tangled mess.”

Here’s why that happens: A little manufacturing trick that has become very popular within the last 5 years is what we call “coating” or “dipping”. After the human hair has been hackled and sorted, it then moves onto the coloring process. After the hair has dried, some companies will “dip” their hair in a silicone solution. What this does is put a slippery, shiny protective layer on the outside of each hair strand, making it look and feel very high quality.

Unfortunately, this silicone solution doesn’t last very long. What happens is the client goes home extremely happy with a new beautiful look. After a few days of wear and a couple of washes, that silicone comes right off, conveying the true quality of hair.

This “dipping” process is very common for manufacturers and hair extension companies to use especially with non-remy human hair. Non-remy human hair is a much lesser quality human hair because of the way it was collected. Non-remy human hair is collected from the floors of salons and homes after it was cut from the person’s head.

The problem with this is that once that hair hits the floors, it’s impossible to tell which direction the cuticle is facing. In other words, which end is the root or top and which end is the tail or bottom? The collector carelessly puts it all into a bag which is taken to market for resale. Why is the cuticle so important? I’ll tackle that topic in another blog entry.

Let’s get back to my original point, the reason why hair may have been beautiful right out of the package, but quickly becomes a dry tangled mess. Remember a lot of the new hair extension companies popping up don’t even know why this is happening to the hair they sell.

The reason is, they have no participation in the manufacturing process. They just get online, locate a “hair manufacturer” and start buying. As we say at Donna Bella, the test of time is our best friend. This is how you, the stylist, can determine the difference between Donna Bella and our competition.

“Why are black hairs mixed in with my blonde extensions?” This is one of the common complaints we hear from stylists that use other hair extension companies. Here’s the answer: Although it happens to all types of hair, the black hair problem is most prevalent with Indian hair. The reason is because within the last few years, Indian women have started using a product on their hair that has substantial amounts of coconut oils.

Over the years, while growing their hair to 18,” and sometimes much longer, the coconut oils have a lasting effect on the hair. It would only be considered a negative effect to manufacturers like ourselves, because it makes the coloring process much more tedious and difficult.

The coconut oil creates a seal or repellent inside the cuticle, not allowing the hair shaft to take new color deposits. Another reason for black hair in your extensions is the black hair strands are synthetic. You might ask how those synthetic strands made their way into your 100% human hair package. I’ll answer that question in another blog.

Even if that black hair does not burn or shrivel up when using a flat iron or curling iron, does not mean it is human hair. There are now new synthetic fibers on the market that are heat resistant. Also a topic worthy of it’s own blog. Another reason for black hair mixed in with your blonde extensions is the hair donor had damaged or old hair.

Damaged from previous hair color. Woman coloring their own hair before selling/donating it, is much more common in China than it is in India. Bleaching hair in China has become very trendy. It used to be only in the larger coastal cities that women would bleach their hair. But because of T.V. and media, even in the rural western cities, which is where most raw hair comes from, women are bleaching their hair. As we all know, bleach damages the hair and makes it more difficult for us to further lift and deposit colors.

Why do Donna Bella hair extensions not have this black hair mixed with the other colors? Donna Bella has always prided itself on the fact that we buy and process our own hair. Besides Great Lengths, Socap, Hair Dreams etc., most hair extension companies buy their hair already packaged. They have no idea where the hair came from or how it was processed. The manufacturers may tell them it is Indian or European hair, but they have no idea because they don’t spend time in India and China quality controlling their products. Donna Bella Inc. does. If any of that poor quality or synthetic hair makes it into our raw hair, it is always sorted and taken out before it goes into the final package.

A very long explanation, but now you know why some hair extension companies have black hair mixed in with their other colors - and knowing is half the battle.